Ke10/11 Making It Handle!!

[ke11restorer]

Well, I'm looking into making my Ke11 handle a bit better.

I'm probably gunna pick up a worked 5k and 5spd for it.

I'm probably gunna make up some sway bars and so forth,

I would like to know what suspension setups everyone has tried and tested.

Looking to do a bit of touge in it :) :kiwi:

Ideally I would like to keep the 12" Stockies

Will be looking at gettin ke20 discs for the front as well.

Please any information is much appreciated.

Thanks for your time

[kangaroosa]

The one thing i can highly recommend if your going to be changing springs, is to go a pair of custom springs. I just had a pair made for my Corolla at $160/ pair. Your gauranteed of the exact ride height that you want, and you get to choose how stiff you want it. Its not really worth paying $150 for off the shelf springs and hoping you like where your car sits and rides.

[anastasios]

if your going to be using a 5k wouldnt you want to get a bit bigger brakes? maybe ae71?

[CorollaNut68]

I'm new in these forums and forgive me if I don't know all the codes and whatnot. I've had my 69 for 20 years now and let me just say...it has been through some sh*t!

Here is my simple set up: New stock front struts, Front disc brakes from a 72 model ( bolts right on ), New stock rear shocks, Small set of helper leaf springs like you would use for towing ( I do have a trailer hitch ), 13 inch wheels from the 72, 185/70R13's all around.

Here is what it has done in the past 20 years.

Raced daily, all over town (potholes, RR tracks, speed bumps ha ha, I laugh at the guys in the lowered and lowprofile). Raced on backroads (gravel and dirt, rain or shine), drifts beautifully. Towed full size Chevy truck on a tilt bed car hauler over 200 miles. Pulled a 72 Dodge (which was pulling a boat and they were both still hooked together) out of a lake. On a bad day in 1995 ..while trying to blow it up: out-drove the entire Bryant Police force and about 12 State Troopers for, hmmm...30 miles or so (they gave me a ticket for 131mph???) radiator blew...jumped a ditch, (almost). Never, ever stuck in snow or ice. The list goes on but these are just a few highlites. Fantastic car.

[anastasios]

lol so if we put ke20 brakes on our corollas we can out run police? ke55 brakes also bolt onto the ke10 hubs which would give some kind of upgrade.

[ke11restorer]

I'm lookin at gettin 14" wheels for it too.

But what mazda's came with 14" wheels?

I thought only R100 came with 14" steelies

and they are f@$kin rare as and worth top dollah

 

626?

[anastasios]

I'm sure there would be aftermarket wheels in that stud pattern just rare, i wouldnt buy mazdas wheels as those mazda boys pay top dollar for everything

[Felix]

The single biggest improvement to handling on a ke1x is to add a front swaybar. Whiteline makes a good 22mm kit. Alternatively if you can find a front bar from an RT40 corona, you could make up some brackets to adapt. The RT40 bars are 19mm, and are almost identical in dimensions to the bar in the Whiteline kit.

 

For the front struts, fit a set of ke20-55 heavy duty strut inserts. They are a little shorter so you will need a spacer on top before you fit the retaining nut. Part of the original wet leg innards makes a perfect spacer. The use of ke20 top spring retainers makes for easier lowering, whilst ditching the front leaves. Have a look here and here for futher details on front end mods.

 

I'd suggest upgrading to at least ke30 front discs on a set of ke20 hubs. They stop better and are more fade resistant than the ke20 discs. A simple dual circuit master cylinder upgrade is to use a non-boosted mitsubishi galant item. They nearly bolt straight in with some fiddling with brake lines.

 

At the rear, I would suggest leaving the rear leaves as is, unless you drive on a racetrack or very smooth roads. You want rear suspension compliance to help power through corners. Just add a set of heavy duty shocks and urethane bushes to minimise tramp and sidestepping. If you make it to low and stiff the rear will become skittish and unpredictable on rough surfaces, and more of a handful in the wet.

 

For rims try Mazda 626 RWD ones. They are 13x5.5, and fit a ke1x perfectly. You need to file out the center hole slightly otherwise they are near impossible to remove from the front hubs. You should be able to get them from the wreckers for between $10 to $20 per rim. To make the car look more stock, get a set of old 13" hubcaps from something like a Mazda or Datto.

 

A set of performance orientated 185/60R13 tyres fit perfectly on the above rims and make a huge difference in handling and safety over 12" tyres.

[ScottKE1X]

Nice write up Doug.

 

Doug convinced me to get a whiteline swaybar and i would never drive a ke1x without

one. interesting about that rt40 corona one, ill look into that...

[mikeys toy[RL]]

how much is the whiteline kit?

[Felix]

Think i paid AU$230 (delivered) for the last one I bought for the ke16. That was about 3 years ago though.

 

I have one on both my ke15 and ke16. Makes a huge difference to handling! As ROL-110 said, I would never drive a ke1x without one. Really helps to stop lifting the inside rear during hard cornering, and makes the car corner flat.

[tenyearguarantee]

I'd suggest upgrading to at least ke30 front discs on a set of ke20 hubs. They stop better and are more fade resistant than the ke20 discs. A simple dual circuit master cylinder upgrade is to use a non-boosted mitsubishi galant item. They nearly bolt straight in with some fiddling with brake lines.

 

is there a vented disk that can be put on these hubs. I'm assuming ke20 disk hubs are the same as ke10 disk hubs.

[mikeys toy[RL]]

Yeah, Doug; I get that problem REALLY bad, it's really unnerving when you're in a curve and it "hops" to the outside.

I think it's worse on the wagons due to the stiff rear springs.

[Felix]

I think it's worse on the wagons due to the stiff rear springs.

 

Definitely agree with you on that. My wagon handles nowhere near as well as my ke15. Though when you have the wagon loaded up it handles alot better. The sway bar did make a BIG difference on the wagon, but it is still a lot more skittish in the rear than the ke15 with its softer springs.

[tenyearguarantee]

is there a vented disk that can be put on these hubs. I'm assuming ke20 disk hubs are the same as ke10 disk hubs.

was i ignored?